Reformation Seminary - Parables Are Not for the Unbelieving

 

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Unbelievers - especially the apostate clergy and bishops, who have abandoned the Christian Faith - cannot understand or teach the Parables of Jesus.

The parables of Jesus were never designed to teach the masses, but only to obscure the stories and comparisons. Do not get angry, because Jesus stated that apparent contradiction for good reason.

KJV Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

Then, as now, people seized on certain examples and did not absorb what Jesus was saying. Many errors blossomed in the first centuries after the Savior ascended to Heaven. The most obvious is the elevation of Mary which was gradually boosted by the new idea - that Mary had to be without sin of any kind, because the Son of God could not have been born unless the mother was immaculate (literally without spot).

Purgatory grew from false notions, that people died in a sinful state, no matter how much was done (reparation offerings - literally repayment; self-punishing; merits - faith needing works.) The demands and punishments of Purgatory grew so much that even the living were enlisted to cut down on the time required. 

The concepts of Immaculate Mary and Purgatory were woven together, since Mary was turned into the comforter of those who were paying for their sins. Jesus became the angry judge who had to be restrained by Mary. Fear and emotions created a vast world-wide community of dogma. 

The parables are for believers who study and hear the Word of God. Their faith in Jesus Christ is mocked, and those mockers love to say, "Nobody knows what the parables mean."

KJV Matthew  13:34 All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: 35 That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Matthew 13 is the treasure trove of parables, but they are found elsewhere, often with slight differences (mocked by apostates).

1. Matthew 13:18 - The Sower and the Seed
2. Matthew 13:24 - The Good Seed
3. Matthew 13:31 - The Grain of Mustard Seed'
4. Matthew 13:33 - The Leaven
5. Matthew 13:44 - Treasure Hidden in a Field
6. Matthew 13:45 - The Pearl of Great Price
7. Matthew 13:47 - The Net Cast

The Most Corrupt Modern Pope - Ever - The Jesuit Francis

 

This article is filled with shocking examples of the Pope's corruption and abuse. 

When Francis first took office, most cardinals shared the popular enthusiasm for his informal style: his preference to be known as plain “Bishop of Rome” and his abandonment of some of the more comical trappings of his office such as the red shoes. But they quickly discovered that this “informal” pope, in contrast to his predecessors, liked to rule through executive fiat.

Francis has issued a torrent of papal rulings known as motu proprios (literally, “of his own accord”) — more than 60 so far, six times more frequently than John Paul II. They have made massive changes to liturgy, finance, government and canon law. They often land without warning and can be brutal: the Pope has used this mechanism to seize control of the Order of Malta, for example, and to strip away the privileges of the secretive but ultra-loyal organization Opus Dei.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Rogate - First Sermon - "The fifth requisite of true prayer is, that we ask in the name of Christ. This is nothing more than that we come before God in the faith of Christ and comfort ourselves with the sure confidence that he is our Mediator, through whom all things are given to us, without whom we merit nothing but wrath and disgrace."

 

Complete sermon ->Luther's Sermons - John 16:23-30.

First Sermon - Rogate. Fifth Sunday after Easter

10. The fifth requisite of true prayer is, that we ask in the name of Christ. This is nothing more than that we come before God in the faith of Christ and comfort ourselves with the sure confidence that he is our Mediator, through whom all things are given to us, without whom we merit nothing but wrath and disgrace. As Paul says to the Romans: “Through whom also we have had our access by faith into this grace wherein we stand; and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” Romans 5:2. It is praying aright in Christ’s name, when we thus trust in ‘him that we will be received and heard for his sake, and not for our own sake. Those, however, who pray in their own name, who presume that God will hear or regard them, because they say so many, such long, such devout, such godly prayers, will merit and obtain nothing but wrath and disgrace; for they wish to be people whom God should regard without a mediator. To them, Christ here is of no consideration, nor is he of any service.

11. We observe that all five requisites of prayer may be complied with in the heart, without any utterance of the mouth. The oral part of prayer is really not to be despised, but it is necessary to kindle and encourage prayer inwardly, in the heart. The additional conditions, however, of which I have written enough elsewhere, should and must be omitted that we specify to God the time, person, place, and measure. We must leave all that to his own free will, and cling only to asking; we must not doubt that the prayer is heard, and that what we petitioned is already ordered — that it will be given — as certainly as if we already had it. This is pleasing to God and he will do as he here promises: “Ask, and ye shall receive.” Those, however, who set the time, place and measure, tempt God, and believe not that they are heard or that they have obtained what they asked; therefore, they also receive nothing. The Gospel lesson continues: “Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name.”

12. It may be that they knew, as yet nothing of such prayer, and of this name; besides they felt no need that urged them to pray in this name. They imagined that so long as Christ was with them they needed nothing and had enough of everything. But, now that he is to separate from them and leave them, trouble immediately comes and they will have reason enough to move them to pray. “These things have I spoken unto you in parables (dark sayings).”

13. When he says, “these things,” he means that which he had just before spoken: “A little while, and ye behold me not; and again a little while, and ye shall see me;” and, “Because I go to the Father;” also, the parable of the woman in travail. For these were nothing but parables, that is, dark obscure sayings, which they did not understand. John calls these dark, hidden sayings “parables,” although the German language does not designate them so, but calls them enigmas or veiled sayings. We are accustomed to say of one who has uttered an enigmatical saying: “That is a covered dish or a covered meal,” when the words have a meaning not on the surface. In parables, the meaning to be conveyed is expressed in a way that not everyone understands. Of this nature were all the sayings of Christ, which he spoke to his disciples on the night of his farewell and his going to the Father; they could understand nothing of them. They thought his going would not be dying and coming into another existence; they thought of it as a pleasure walk and that Christ should return in the body, as one journeys to another country and returns. Therefore, although he spoke plainly and clearly, yet going and parting were a “covered meal” to them.

Hence, he adds: “The hour cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in dark sayings (parables), but shall tell you plainly of the Father.”

From Victor Davis Hanson - Schools Like Stanford Have Larger Administrative Staff Than Students

 

Victor David Hanson, now retired, is one of the few conservative professors in America. Faculties are so slanted that only the Left-wingers are promoted and given tenure.

Meanwhile, from 1980 to 2020, room, board, and tuition increased by 170 percent.

Skyrocketing costs cannot be explained by inflation alone, given that campuses have lightened faculty teaching loads while expanding administrative staff. At Stanford, there is nearly one staffer or administrative position for every student on campus.

At the same time, to vie for a shrinking number of students, colleges began offering costly in loco parentis counseling, Club Med-style dorms and accommodations, and extracurricular activities.

As applicants grew scarcer and expenses went up, universities began offering “full-service” student-aid packages, heavily reliant on government-subsidized student loans. The collective indebtedness of over 40 million student borrowers is nearing $2 trillion.

Worse still, an entire new array of therapeutic majors and minors appeared in the social sciences. Most of these gender/race/environmental courses did not emphasize analytical, mathematical, or oral and written skills. Such course work did not impress employers.

Faculty hiring had become increasingly non-meritocratic based on diversity/equity/inclusion criteria. New faculty hires have sought to institutionalize self-serving DEI and recalibrate higher education to prepare a new generation for self-perpetuating radical ideologies.